Recently, the number of bicycles being shipped directly from a warehouse to a consumer through on-line purchases has been increasing. Typically, bicycles are shipped to consumers in standard corrugated cardboard cartons. FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary bicycle 20 packaged for shipping in a conventional carton 22. During the warehousing and shipping process, it is not uncommon for the shipping carton 22 to be subjected to a number of forces acting on the carton, as depicted by the arrows 24. These forces can cause exposed ends of the front wheel axle 26, rear wheel axle 30, or both axles of the bicycle 20 to rip and/or poke through the carton 22 as indicated at 32 and 34. Once an axle pokes a hole in the carton, typically the hole will continue to expand during the shipping process. The portion of the axle that protrudes through the carton represents a concern for consumers and warehousing personnel. In regard to the former, the exposed axle end can hit or scrape the arms or legs of the consumer potentially causing injury. In regard to the latter, the exposed axle end can catch on conveyor systems used to move goods around the shipping warehouse. The exposed axle can get caught on equipment and be a safety risk. Therefore, it is undesirable to have the axle poke through the carton in which the bicycle is packaged.
One known solution to this problem is to use an axle guard to shield the exposed ends of the axles during shipment. Traditional axle guards are intended to slide on to the axle or the axle nuts that hold the wheels to the frame and be held thereon by a simple friction fit. However, the slide on design of the existing guards does not function very well, easily falling off during insertion of the bicycle into the carton or movement of the shipping carton due to the loose friction fit of the guard on the axle or axle nut. When the protective guard falls off the axle, the exposed end of the axle often protrudes through the cardboard carton, causing damage to the carton and potentially giving rise to the other problems described above.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an apparatus and method for shipping bicycles in cardboard cartons that eliminates the problem of the axle poking through the side of the carton. In particular, it is desirable to have an improved axle guard which is securely attached onto the wheel axle to prevent the guard from falling off the axle during movement of the shipping carton. Further, it is desirable to have an axle guard which can be easily and securely applied to a conventional bicycle axle, prior to placing the bicycle in a shipping carton, without the need to remove the axle nut from the axle.